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TOP STORIES:
HEROIN ACROSS AMERICA
On a beautiful Sunday last October, Detective Dan Douglas stood in a suburban Minnesota home and looked down at a lifeless 20-year-old — a needle mark in the man's arm, a syringe in his pocket. Fresh out of treatment, this man was Douglas' second heroin overdose that day. "You just drive away and go, 'Well, here we go again,'" says the veteran cop. In Butler County, Ohio, responding to heroin overdose calls is so common that the EMS coordinator likens it to "coming in and eating breakfast — you just kind of expect it to occur." A local rehab facility has a six-month wait. One school recently referred an 11-year-old boy. "There are so many residual effects," the sheriff there says. "And we're all paying for it." Heroin is spreading its misery across America, and communities everywhere are indeed paying. The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman spotlighted the reality that heroin is no longer limited to back alleys. The drug has spread to the country and suburbs, gripping postcard villages, middle-class enclaves and sleek urban cores. Police, doctors, parents and former users are struggling to find solutions and save lives. By Amy Forliti, Dan Sewell and Nigel Duara. 1,569 words. Photos. Moved in advance for print release on Sunday, April 6.
With BC-ME_Heroin-Maine
Heroin use surged in Maine in the early 2000s, was displaced by prescription opiates for a few years, then regained an alarming footing in the state again, says Director Roy McKinney of Maine's Drug Enforcement Agency. Like elsewhere in the country, Maine saw the latest rise in heroin use following efforts by law enforcement officials and the medical community to clamp down on prescription drug abuse. McKinney says the surge has swamped the agency's resources, forcing officials to put some investigations before others. "We are triaging," he says. SENT: 400 words.
IN BRIEF:
BOWDOIN-PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
BRUNSWICK, Maine — Officials say two Bowdoin College students accused of selling prescription drugs to other students have left the school and 10 other students have been cited for violating the college's drug policy. The two students resigned from the school this spring rather than face a judicial board.
ONLINE BURN PERMITS
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine is giving all residents the ability to obtain burning permits online. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is offering online permits to burn brush, wood debris or agricultural fields. State officials say the program is available statewide.
HOLOCAUST OPERETTA
PORTLAND, Maine — The University of Southern Maine will show the first English-language performance of Germaine Tillion's Holocaust operetta "In The Underworld" this month. Students in the university's theatre department will perform the operetta. The performance runs from April 18 to 27 at the university's Gorham campus.
METHAMPHETAMINE ARREST
CARIBOU, Maine — State police say a Caribou man is facing charges after drug agents found evidence of a methamphetamine manufacturing lab at a mobile home in the northern Maine town. Maine Drug Enforcement Agents searched the home Friday night.
GROCERY BAGGING CONTEST
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine organization is holding a contest for grocery baggers that it says are the unsung heroes in stores across the state. Participants in the first Maine Bagger contest will be judged on technique, style and speed as they compete to stock bags with grocery store items.
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